Education, From The Capitol To The Classroom

Stories about students: How does education policy affect the way students learn and grow? Can schools meet their needs as they balance ramped-up testing with personal changes and busy schedules? And are students who need help getting it?

Stories about educators: How are those responsible for implementing education policy in schools − from classroom teachers, to district administrators, to school board members − affected by changes at the top? And how well do they meet their challenge of reaching students with varying abilities and needs?

Stories about school assessment: With an increased push for 'accountability' in schools, what can test scores tell us about teacher effectiveness and student learning − and what can't they tell us? What does the data say about how schools at all levels are performing?

Stories about government influence: Who are the people and groups most instrumental in crafting education policy? What are their priorities and agendas? And how do they work together when they disagree?

Stories about money: How do local, state, and federal governments pay to support the education policies they craft? How do direct costs of going to school − from textbooks to tuition − hit a parent or student's bottom line? And how do changing budgets and funding formulas affect learning and teaching?

Here’s Who’s Creating Indiana’s New School Tests

April 29, 2016 | 1:54 PM

Gov. Mike Pence and House Speaker Brian Bosma separately announced appointments to the panel that will recommend a replacement for Indiana’s current standardized test. (David Hartman /Flickr)” credit=”

The panel that will decide the future of Indiana standardized testing is now complete, officials announced Friday.

Gov. Mike Pence and House Speaker Brian Bosma separately announced appointments to the panel that will recommend a replacement for Indiana’s current standardized test, the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus or ISTEP+.

The announcements follow appointments earlier this week from other state officials.

“Today we take an important step towards moving away from ISTEP+ to create a shorter, more reliable test,” said Pence, in a statement. “This dynamic slate of education experts and stakeholders… will take the lead in developing the next iteration of assessment and accountability for our schools.

Under recent state law, the current ISTEP+ must end after the 2016-2017 school year. The 23-member ISTEP+ Review Panel will study alternatives to ISTEP+ and make recommendations for a shorter, simpler-to-administer test by December.

NIcole Fama, principal of IPS 93 in Indianapolis, will serve as chair of the panel.

The move to rewrite ISTEP+ comes after challenges in administering, scoring and releasing results of the last test. That last test was new in 2014-15, after the state ditched the Common Core the year before.

“If there was agreement on one thing about testing this session, across the board, it was that the ISTEP brand is broken,” Bosma said. “A test that has become both cumbersome and can’t be turned around within 8 months, it’s just outdated, it just isn’t appropriate.”

The ISTEP+ Review Panel will hammer out details of the replacement — what a new test will look like, its length and how state officials can use it to rate schools and teachers.

“Rather than trying to pick a rabbit out of a hat during the legislative session with policymakers, who generally are not testing experts, we thought best to assemble a panel of experts from the education field,” said Bosma.

Indiana students will take the current ISTEP+ this spring and next spring. The new test, decided by the committee, will go into effect spring 2018.

Here’s a full look at the appointments:

From Gov. Mike Pence:

Nicole Fama, Principal of Indianapolis Public School #93

Dr. Jim Roberts, Superintendent of Batesville Community School Corporation

Charles Weisenbach, principal of Roncalli High School

Brent Freeman, Special Education Officer for Indianapolis Public Schools

Dr. Micelle McKeown, General Counsel and Director of Policy for the Indiana Charter School Board

From House Speaker Brian Bosma:

Melissa Scherle, Indianapolis Public Schools second grade teacher

Edward Rangel, assistant principal at Tindley Genesis

Dr. Scot Croner, Superintendent of Blackford County Schools

Dr. Lynne Stallings, parent and professor at Ball State University

From Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz:

Ayana Wilson-Coles, a third grade teacher at Eagle Creek Elementary School